The present invention relates in general to a word information storage and retrieval device and, more particularly, to an electronic dictionary and language interpreter for providing efficient and rapid retrieval of any desired word or words stored therein.
Recently, a new type of electronic device called an electronic dictionary and language interpreter has been available on the market. The electronic dictionary and language interpreter differs from conventional electronic devices in that the former is of a unique structure which provides for efficient and rapid retrieval of word information stored in a memory. An example of such electronic dictionaries and language interpreter was disclosed in Levy U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,236, June 12, 1979, ELECTRONIC DICTIONARY AND LANGUAGE INTERPRETER.
These conventional portable language interpreter function so that a noninflected word, not an inflected word, was entered to obtain a translated word equivalent to it. It was usual that the inflected word was not contained within a memory of the interpreter. Even if the inflected word and its relationship to the noninflected word was stored in the memory, it was difficult to quickly obtain a translation of the noninflected word. It was frequent that the inflected word may have another translated word which did not correspond to the noninflected word. Therefore, it could not find that the inflected word corresponded to a particular noninflected form.
It is desired that the portable language interpreters generate a translated word equivalent to the inflected word in response to the introduction of the noninflected word.